A reporter believes that she has discovered a Congressman's affair. But as it turns out, Elle isn't a mistress, but something used to describe an event so cataclysmic that it could destroy the planet... When it is discovered that an enormous comet is on a collision course with Earth, a handful of Americans make different preparations for the end of the world. While Leo Biederman (played by Elijah Wood), the fourteen-year-old amateur astronomer who discovered the comet, deals with the pangs of first love, an ambitious newswoman (played by Tea Leoni) attempts to reconcile with her estranged parents. A former astronaut (played by Robert Duvall) finds himself in the stars once again in an attempt to prevent the catastrophe from occurring. Mimi Leder directs from a script by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin.